I try not to indulge in these sorts of games, because I always lose. However, I am having a very strong feeling about some worrying things happening. Specifically:
1. The remainder of the freeze season ice parameters vacillate a lot, and don't get very much higher. As the central pack thickens in Jan-Feb, the high levels of southern ice start to disperse. Storms through the Atlantic and Pacific into the spring stop the extent and area increasing much on either front. Volume finally deviates dramatically from the previous years' curves, as we're starting to see.
2. Fearsome early melt in April and May stalls a bit as the clouds build (a genuine negative feedback that becomes recognised for the high summer), but not enough to save it. Increasing storminess acts as a blender on the unusually thin pack during June.
3. The thickest remaining multi-year ice detaches from Northern Greenland, and ends up fragmented and quite possibly swept out the Fram. The top of Greenland has frequent rainstorms poured over it as a result.
4. Changes in circulation patterns lead to dramatic and undeniable (but not yet catastrophic) methane releases from the Laptev/ESS; NH levels spike to well over 3000 ppb.
5. Mainstream news begins to over-use the word 'collapse' to describe the Arctic situation.
6. Trump accepts the reality of climate change, under pressure from the EU and China, together with the Arctic collapse... but endorses geoengineering solutions (ideally ones with alleged [i.e. pipe-dream] lucrative side-effects, like ocean fertilisation). Luckily, most people notice that these could result in even worse problems, but the result is zero progress.
7. The Arctic autumn is carnage. Ice grows, but in weird places, and keeps getting melted out or moved.
8. Next year's predictions on here are a wee bit dire.
9. Bruce declares himself heartily sick of acorns.
